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A teenage musician ‘froze’ when an internationally-renowned professor groped her as she played her violin at the world’s best music school, a court has been told.
Jan Repko, 66, was standing behind the 18-year-old as she played when he allegedly undid her trousers and assaulted her before asking her ‘how the experience felt’.
She initially told her mother and the police that Repko had only touched her bottom because she felt ’embarrassed and ashamed’ about the incident at the Royal College of Music in Kensington, Southwark Crown Court heard.
The South Africa-born professor of Fulham, southwest London, denies charges of sexual assault and assault by penetration and described the allegations against him as ‘absurd’ following his arrest.
Nneka Akudolu, KC, prosecuting, told the court that Repko had asked ‘May I?’ before beginning his assault on July 1, 2022.
But she believed he had asked her whether he could touch her hand.
‘She said that he suggested leaning back on her heels and standing straight like a plank of wood.
‘She said he placed one hand on her waist and another on her bottom. At this point he was standing behind her.
Jan Repko, 66, was standing behind the violinist as she played when he allegedly undid her trousers and assaulted her, jurors heard
Repko, who also taught at Chetham’s School of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, denies one count of sexual assault and one of assault by penetration
‘She could, she said, feel his breath near to her ear. Shocked, and not knowing how to respond to the situation, she continued playing.
‘He placed his hand over her crotch area before undoing her trousers and inserting his finger into her vagina.
‘She made a mistake in the piece and then froze.
‘She said he invited her to sit down and he asked her how the experience had felt, to which she replied, ‘uncomfortable’.’
‘What struck her is just how normal his behaviour was having experienced what he had just done.’
The teenager told police that Repko had promised her that Royal College of Music would be the best place for her to study to enhance her ability.
The teenager was asked by officers why she had not initially revealed the intimate nature of the assault.
‘She had only told her mother that he had touched her bottom because she was so embarrassed and ashamed,’ said the prosecutor.
But after the alleged assault she had told a friend that Repko touched her bottom, and her friend suggested she contact the police, the court heard.
Repko taught at the Royal College of Music, and has also spent five years as concertmaster of the Northern Philharmonic Orchestra in the Netherlands
The friend said the girl was ‘reluctant because the defendant was so influential, and that if she made a complaint it could jeopardise her career.’
When interviewed by police, Repko denied the allegations and suggested ‘anyone could have walked into the room at any time’, Ms Akudolu said.
‘He said that she seemed perfectly happy when he parted company with her at the tube station, and that she was friendly and chatty.’
Repko, who also taught at Chetham’s School of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, denies one count of sexual assault and one of assault by penetration.
The RCM, established in 1883, is ranked as the world’s leading institution for performing arts.
Alumni include classical composers Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Gustav Holst and Ralph Vaughan Williams and theatre boss Lord Andrew Lloyd-Webber.
The late Queen was also patron of the college while King Charles III is the RCM’s president.
Repko studied violin with Jack de Wet, performing as a soloist and in chamber ensembles, and has been invited to give masterclasses all over the world.
He spent five years as concertmaster of the Northern Philharmonic Orchestra in the Netherlands and is a co-founder of the Netherlands Youth String Orchestra.
The trial continues.
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